The new facility will be located in Clinton County at the southeast corner of the intersection of I- 35 and BB Highway
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
Find out how to advertise here - Email us! [email protected]
Cameron Community Hospital (CCH) officials have announced the culmination of plans for construction of a new hospital facility, an undertaking that had its beginnings some three-plus years ago.
Hampered by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, a deteriorating bond market, and the accompanying concern of potential bond buyers, the project’s climax has been long awaited by CCH”s Board of Directors, Medical Staff, employees, and residents of the four-county area, according to Joseph Abrutz, hospital Administrator.
The new facility will be located in Clinton County at the southeast corner of the intersection of I- 35 and BB Highway, with the site having been annexed into Cameron city limits.
J.E. Dunn Construction Company from Kansas City will serve as the general contractor for the project, while Hart Freeland Roberts, also from Kansas City, will provide architectural services. Their contracts call for a 56,000 square foot, one-story, 54-bed facility, plus rough grading for an 8,100 square foot medical office building.
The $18.6m tax-exempt bond issue through the Cameron Industrial Development Authority will be insured by American Capital Access, with approximately $1.0m of the proceeds being allocated toward new equipment for the facility. George K. Baum & Company serves as underwriter for the issue.
Heartland Health Systems of St. Joseph has agreed to act as a partial guarantor for the project, pledging a Debt Service Loan Fund to serve as financial backing for the project. Lowell C. Kruse, President of Heartland, said the organization is pleased to support this project.
“We believe that healthcare should be provided locally as much as possible,” Kruse said. We are confident this new facility will help develop and improve healthcare for the Cameron community.”
In exchange for Heartland’s support, CCH will create an additional seat on its now 13-member Board of Directors for Heartland to occupy during the life of the loan fund.
As part of its due diligence process, the CCH Board of Directors in November 1999 had retained Superior Consulting, a nationwide healthcare firm, to perform a feasibility study on the proposed project, utilizing conservative assumptions with regard to market share, population increases, and governmental/managed care discounts.
Subsequent updates to the study in 2000, as well as a review by CCH’s auditors, Wendling Noe Nelson and Johnson from Topeka, had led both CCH’s Finance Committee and Board of Directors to believe that the project is financially feasible and that replacements of the current 45-year-old building is in the best interest of four-county residents.
CCH officials have indicated that construction will commence on or around Jan. 1, 2001, with a scheduled completion date in the fall of 2002. Groundbreaking ceremonies are planned after the first of the year.